Farr Law Firm

10/21/2026

Choosing a nursing home (the legal name for all nursing facilities, which are also called skilled nursing facilities or SNFs, nursing facilities, rehabilitation facilities, long-term care facilities, health care facilities, and health and rehab centers) for a parent, spouse, or other family member can be one of the most consequential decisions a family makes. Yet families are often trying to make that decision quickly, under tremendous pressure, and while sorting through conflicting information from nursing homes, hospital discharge planners, internet reviews, and senior-placement companies.

For nationwide nursing home ratings and objective quality information, there is only one source you can rely on: the federal government’s Nursing Home Care Compare website.

U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services created the Five-Star Quality Rating System specifically to help residents, families, and caregivers compare nursing homes.

Discover how to find the best nursing home using CMS ratings and uncover the truth about Medicaid beds.

10/07/2026

The “Great Wealth Transfer” is often described as though trillions of dollars will simply pass from aging baby boomers to their children and grandchildren. But that description ignores an enormous financial threat standing between today’s older generation and tomorrow’s inheritance: the cost of long-term care.

Recent reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle and MarketWatch emphasizes that much of the wealth supposedly waiting to be transferred is not sitting safely in protected inheritance accounts. It consists of retirement savings and home equity that the owners may need during their lifetimes.

Years of home care, assisted living, or nursing-facility care can consume those assets before the intended beneficiaries ever receive them.

Explore how long-term care costs may drain the Great Wealth Transfer before reaching the next generation's hands.

09/26/2026

Episode 1: Must I Spend All of My Assets in Order to Get Medicaid?

Are you or a loved one facing an immediate need for nursing home care — or already in a nursing home — and worried that you have too much money or too much income to qualify for Medicaid?

You may have been told that you must spend nearly everything before Medicaid can help pay for nursing home care.

None of this is true.

I have just published Episode 1 of my new video series, Medicaid Planning Masterclass.

As a Certified Elder Law Attorney and the author of four national best-selling books in the field of Elder Law, I have spent much of my career helping families understand how to protect assets while obtaining necessary long-term care.

Episode 1 answers the question families ask me more than any other:

Must I spend down all of my assets to qualify for Medicaid? The answer is NO.

Find out in my new video series, a masterclass on Medicaid Planning, why you do not need to spend all your assets for care.

09/26/2026

Clarifying Misconceptions About Step-Up in Basis and Irrevocable Trusts
Ever since the IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2023-2 in March 2023, many articles — including some written by attorneys and CPAs — have spread the mistaken idea that no irrevocable trust allows a step-up in basis at death. This misunderstanding has led to confusion and concern among clients who have already created certain types of asset protection trusts, particularly those using our Living Trust Plus® Asset Protection Trust. Attorneys and CPAs need to understand that Revenue Ruling 2023-2 was a confirmation of existing law and changed nothing about the tax treatment of the Living Trust Plus or similar trusts designed in a way such that the trust assets are intentionally part of the taxable estate of the trust settlor.

Clarifying Misconceptions About Step-Up in Basis and Irrevocable Trusts Ever since the IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2023-2 in March 2023, many articles —

09/26/2026

Episode 1: Must I Spend All of My Assets in Order to Get Medicaid?

Are you or a loved one facing an immediate need for nursing home care — or already in a nursing home — and worried that you have too much money or too much income to qualify for Medicaid?

You may have been told that you must spend nearly everything before Medicaid can help pay for nursing home care.

None of this is true.

I have just published Episode 1 of my new video series, Medicaid Planning Masterclass.

As a Certified Elder Law Attorney and the author of four national best-selling books in the field of Elder Law, I have spent much of my career helping families understand how to protect assets while obtaining necessary long-term care.

Episode 1 answers the question families ask me more than any other:

Must I spend down all of my assets to qualify for Medicaid? The answer is NO.

https://youtu.be/5B5u1fp9skA

09/26/2026

Episode 1: Must I Spend All of My Assets in Order to Get Medicaid?

Are you or a loved one facing an immediate need for nursing home care — or already in a nursing home — and worried that you have too much money or too much income to qualify for Medicaid?

You may have been told that you must spend nearly everything before Medicaid can help pay for nursing home care.

None of this is true.

I have just published Episode 1 of my new video series, Medicaid Planning Masterclass.

As a Certified Elder Law Attorney and the author of four national best-selling books in the field of Elder Law, I have spent much of my career helping families understand how to protect assets while obtaining necessary long-term care.

Episode 1 answers the question families ask me more than any other:

Must I spend down all of my assets to qualify for Medicaid? The answer is NO.

https://youtu.be/5B5u1fp9skA?is=5S3MWeywsUPtbScT

Find out in my new video series, a masterclass on Medicaid Planning, why you do not need to spend all your assets for care.

09/23/2026

A new skin-biopsy test can now help doctors detect biological evidence associated with Parkinson’s disease and several related neurological disorders. For families dealing with unexplained tremors, balance problems, cognitive changes, or other neurological symptoms, the test may provide greater diagnostic certainty much earlier than was previously possible.

That matters medically. It can also matter enormously for Estate Planning, Incapacity Planning, long-term care planning, and Medicaid Asset Protection Planning.

Parkinson’s disease can progress slowly over many years, but it can eventually affect mobility, cognition, communication, and a person’s ability to live independently. An earlier and more reliable diagnosis gives families more time to make legal, financial, housing, and long-term-care decisions while the person with Parkinson’s can still participate fully in those decisions.

What Is the New Skin Biopsy Test for Parkinson’s Disease?

Find out how the New Parkinson’s Skin Biopsy Test could transform early diagnosis and elder law planning for families.

09/18/2026

Evan Farr Quoted by The Wall Street Journal on Patients Being Asked to Pay for Medical Care Up Front
In a September 2026 article published by The Wall Street Journal⁠, health care reporter Peter Loftus examines the growing practice of hospitals and physicians asking patients to pay some or all of their estimated out-of-pocket costs before receiving nonemergency medical care. The article reports that approximately 92% of U.S. health care providers now encourage or require prepayment, or collect a payment method during the estimate process, up from 81% in 2025.

Certified Elder Law Attorney Evan H. Farr explains that patients do not necessarily have to accept an upfront payment demand without question. Farr advises that patients can push back and tell the provider they do not want to pay in advance until it is clear what their insurance will cover.

Evan Farr Quoted by The Wall Street Journal on Patients Being Asked to Pay for Medical Care Up Front In a September 2026 article published by The Wall

09/17/2026

Q. I read somewhere that there is over $100 billion of unclaimed property. How is this possible? How is it that so much property goes unclaimed? Is there a way that I can check to see if any of that belongs to me? And how can I ensure of that when I die, my property goes where I want it to go and doesn’t wind up as part of this $100 billion of unclaimed property? Thanks for your help!
Note: This article is Part 1 in a 3-part series on the Problems with Beneficiary Designations. Links for Part 2 and Part 3 are at the end of this article.
A. When someone dies, determining the distribution of their estate can be an arduous task. Families are fortunate when the decedent (person who passed away) had the good sense to get their estate planning documents in order by establishing a strong and unified estate plan, which almost always means using a trust to consolidate assets while living and clearly designating who should receive what from their trust upon death.

Q. I read somewhere that there is over $100 billion of unclaimed property. How is this possible? How is it that so much property goes unclaimed? Is there a way

09/17/2026

Big news! Evan Farr has joined the Kiplinger Adviser Intel team as a regular contributor.
His first article is officially live: Your Revocable Living Trust Won't Protect Your Assets from Long-Term Care Costs: Do This Instead.
Check out the post to discover why standard revocable trusts fall short when it comes to long-term care — and the essential steps you need to consider instead to safeguard your family's assets.

Big news! Evan Farr has joined the Kiplinger Adviser Intel team as a regular contributor. His first article is officially live: Your Revocable Living Trust Won